Seven rugby players - including former Samoa and Manawatu midfielder Johnny Leota - had to be rescued when they got stuck in a hotel lift because they broke the weight limit.

The Sale Sharks players included Wales halfback Mike Phillips and South African prop Brian Mujati, who filmed them as they were stranded for 75 minutes, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Mujati filmed the drama on his mobile phone and at one point Leota - married to former Silver Ferns netballer Liana Leota - jokingly wrote 'Tell My Wife I Love Her' in the condensation forming on the metal interior of the lift.

Together they tipped the scales at 755kg - more than 120kg above the maximum weight limit in the lift at the Hilton hotel in Bath.

As a result it got stuck halfway between the reception and the first floor and the players had to call for help, according to the Daily Telegraph.

A fire crew and an engineer were called out, as the players managed to prise open the lift doors and were handed bottles of water, coffee and sandwiches as temperatures rose inside, the Telegraph reported.

​The six were eventually freed around 2.50pm on Saturday, October 7 - in plenty of time before their game against Bath at 7.45pm that evening.

But the Aviva Premiership match also proved to be a big let down for the team who were soundly beaten 30-3 by the hosts.